Hey ya'll from Audrey in England! WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING HERE? Part 1.

06/02/2018.  Hi, I am in England for the next 6 weeks, until July 9. This is my first blog post.  I am hoping that blogging will make it easier to journal my thoughts and photos as I go.  At the time of starting this, I am sending to a group of 36 friends and family who are interested in my journey (At least I hope that is the way this works.    I never trust this internet thing very much.  ) While I am here in England, I am working from my laptop and not using my phone for texting or calls, only emails.  So feel free to email me directly.  OK?  

So, what in the world am I doing here?  Its a long story, and my family and friends know bits and pieces of it.  In a nutshell, a couple years ago I found myself beginning a new chapter in my life:  Newly retired, newly single, and faced with a multitude of choices.  I am settling into a rhythm of life as a creative contemplative Christian, with God as my companion, and I am exploring what that means.  Mostly walking through doors that open.  I love to travel, I love the UK, I love nature and quiet retreat places, I love to worship and pray, and I love to be creative.  So  a couple years ago I started looking into travel opportunities to combine all these, and found this place through a series of links on the Internet.  It is called Scargill House, and you can click here and read more about it:        https://scargillmovement.org/

So, I have been following them for the past 20 months on the internet and decided to see if I could come join their community for awhile to see what they are all about.   There was an application process,  and guess what, they said YES! 

So I chose a 6 week window this summer to "give it a go" as they say here.  I arrived in Manchester on Tuesday, (May 29) and a driver was there waiting for me. All good.  We headed north in his car through the English countryside, and the further we traveled away from the city, the prettier it got...the roads got narrower, lined with trees, barns, and miles of stone fences, with beautiful scenes  around each bend.  Finally after almost 2 hours, we turned a corner and we were there, at Scargill House!  I was warmly welcomed and it seems like I slept and walked around in a jet lag fog for a couple days, and gradually eased into the daily rhythm of life here.  

This is my private room. Very British. Its just right; cozy and clean with a beautiful view of the green hills. ( I will send more photos of the place next time.  I think my WiFi here limits the amount I can send at a time)

​

Scargill House is a small Christian conference center where people from all over England come for holiday, retreats, conferences, and meetings.  It is also home to about 24 adults who live here "in community" and work here as volunteers, in exchange for room and board.  So I will be part of that community of workers for the next 6 weeks.  The community is mostly people from England, but there are some temporary volunteers like me from all over the world.  (I am the only American.)  We all work on teams that change from week to week, so I will be rotating through various teams doing everything from hosting and serving tea, to leading hikes, to cleaning guest rooms and bathrooms, to kitchen work.  It should be an interesting experience of learning to work and communicate with teams of people doing all the little jobs that nobody notices unless they don't get done.  Lots of behind-the-scenes work goes into making a place like this tick.  So it's a little like working in a hotel or restaurant (which I have never done before), making guests feel comfortable, and giving them a good experience.  New guests check in and out of here every few days for various conferences, so each week will be different.  Learning about  true hospitality from the heart.  I will work about 5 hours a day, and the other time is my free time.  We have a beautiful chapel here with prayer 3 times daily, and serve 3 meals a day plus tea 4 times daily. (these Brits really do love their tea.)   So even when I am "free" I am busy.  The days will fly by.  

​

I think this is enough for now, I just wanted to thank you for your prayers for me while I am here.  I must say that this place is exactly as I had hoped:   Authentic Christian community,  safe, comfortable, and welcoming surroundings, and a gorgeous setting.  Nothing weird here, so we can all stop worrying about that now.  

All is well and I am going to have the adventure of a lifetime!  More soon, 

until then, Cheerio!  (nobody really says that here)   

Deep peace to you,

Audrey